Salad spinner devices are common and not new to the marketplace. All known salad spinners are designed to create centrifugal force that expedites removal of residual water which accumulates after rinsing leafy vegetables. This is done to avoid soggy greens which can detract from the texture and quality of a salad. Each known device in the prior art employs a mechanical method for swiftly rotating a perforated container filled with rinsed greens inside a vessel that captures and contains water after its removal. This mechanical method is not the subject of this disclosure as it could be satisfactorily achieved by using one of several drive mechanisms already known in the public domain.
Most salad spinner devices consist of five main components: (1) a rigid and stationary exterior main bowl with (2) an exterior lid, (3) an interior rotatable colander with (4) an engageable interior lid, and (5) a rotary drive device that is fastened to the exterior lid which when activated by the user, spins the interior lid and colander in unison. The exterior lid, rotary drive, and interior lid are usually combined in a lid assembly. The user typically will fill the colander with leafy greens and wash them thoroughly under a faucet. Then, the dripping colander is placed inside the main bowl on a countertop, the lid assembly (containing the exterior lid, interior lid and the rotary device) is placed on top of the bowl and the user activates the rotary drive device to create the centrifugal force needed to remove water from the greens. Unfortunately, because of the nature of the centrifugal force, the contents are thrust outward against the perforated inner walls of the colander, obstructing the very holes meant to allow water to escape. Many times the user must stop and ‘fluff up’ the contents and spin again for adequate results.
There is a need, then, for a salad spinner device that, in conjunction with centrifugal force, includes features that accelerate drying time while making less work for the user.